Radiohead
Airbag/How Am I Driving?
(Capitol)

Hands down 1997's Record of the Year by virtue of its pop-smart richness, its avant-garde melodicism, and its precious (but not pretentious) art-rock ideals, Radiohead's OK Computer introduced the concepts of depth and thought to commercially viable modern rock - a considerate gesture indeed in light of the schools of shallow swimmers with whom we are currently wading.

A sort of OK Computer nightcap, the Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP includes seven songs from the album sessions, with only one - the title track - previously released. Overall, the material adheres to the same melodic and artistic contours as its forefather, though it is perhaps a daub less sublime and a little less polished in execution. "Melatonin" has Thom Yorke affecting that same hyper-melancholic vocal as he did on "Paranoid Android," and "Palo Alto" reminds us that Radiohead started out as a fairly conventional (but still good) rock band, as does "Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)," a loosely assembled soft-loud piece with a Beatlesque psychedelic crash tacked on. "Reminder," which holds within it the EP's best melody and a tortuously sad lyric, is the only track that would have been worthy of inclusion on OK Computer. Holding it up to that standard, however, doesn't mean Airbag suffers at all; in the relatively desolate land of modern rock at present, any outtakes from a session as utterly inspired as Radiohead's last is a welcome blast of refreshment.

Bob Gulla

Wall of Sound
08.98